Police find no evidence that shots were fired near Penrose Hospital

By: Jesse Paul jesse.paul@gazette.com

June 20, 2013Updated: June 20, 2013 at 9:55 pm

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A shots fired call from the second floor of Penrose Pavilion east of Penrose Hospital shut down the building. SWAT was called out and the building was cleared on Thursday, June 20, 2013. (Jerilee Bennett/The Gazette)

After evacuating a medical building and searching the area near Penrose Hospital, Colorado Springs police could find no evidence that shots had been fired in the area.

Just before 5:30 p.m., two employees working in the Penrose Pavillion office building called police and reported that they had heard gunshots. Minutes later, the hospital was locked down and law enforcement arrived in swarms.

Following a thorough search of the four-floor building, police, including members of the police tactical enforcement team armed with assault rifles, found no one with a gun. The building and area were cleared around 8 p.m after no shell casings or any other evidence was recovered that would indicate shots had been fired, according to Commander Fletcher Howard.

"Anytime we get a call of an active gunman situation, our first action is preserving life," Howard said. "As far as we're concerned today, it's over."

Howard added that police will continue to investigate the reports in following days.

While waiting to reenter the building, two employees said they had not hear any gunshots from their fourth floor office. Howard said that other than the initial reporting parties, no one else in the building confirmed the call.

About 20 employees inside the building were evacuated after the call came in, at which point the east side of the hospital was blocked off and eastbound Nevada Avenue was briefly closed at Jackson Street.

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Contact Jesse Paul at 636-0253. Twitter: @JesseAPaul

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